Samsung is still months away from unveiling the Galaxy S27 Ultra, but the phone is already one of the worst kept secrets in tech. Certification filings, CAD renders and a steady drip of tips from reliable leakers have painted a remarkably detailed picture of what to expect, and it looks like Samsung is finally willing to change more than just the chip. A bigger battery, a redesigned camera module and a move to triple rear lenses headline the leaks, alongside 2nm silicon and a possible price rise. Here is everything we know so far, plus what it means for buyers in the UK and the US.
A new look and a raised camera plateau
The most visible change is at the back. Leaked CAD renders shared at the end of September show Samsung ditching the floating individual lens rings that have defined the Galaxy S series for years. In their place sits a raised rectangular camera plateau, closer in concept to Apple’s camera bump treatment, which should also fix the table wobble that annoyed owners of earlier Ultras.
OnLeaks has clarified that the microphone probably sits inside the new camera island, and leakers stress that several prototypes and mixed CADs are still doing the rounds, so the final design could still shift before launch. A separate case render showed a MagSafe style magnetic ring with a claimed pull force of around 2,400 gf, which suggests accessory makers are betting big on magnetic attachments for the S27 generation.
Three cameras instead of four
Under the plateau, Samsung is reportedly simplifying the camera hardware. Industry analyst Roland Quandt says the dedicated 10MP 3x telephoto is gone. The leaked setup is a 200MP main camera using a new Samsung ISOCELL HP6 sensor, a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto.
The logic is that the huge 200MP main sensor, helped by in sensor cropping and computational processing, can cover the 2x to 4x zoom range that the old 3x lens used to handle. Tipster Ice Universe also points to image processing upgrades, with warmer colours, better highlight control on small bright objects and less noise in night shots. The front camera is tipped to jump from 12MP to 16MP with autofocus, which would be the first selfie hardware upgrade in years.
The battery finally gets serious
The headline upgrade for many buyers is the battery. After seven generations stuck at 5,000mAh, regulatory filings covered by GSMArena show the S27 Ultra clearing China’s 3C authority with a rated cell of 5,534mAh, which translates to a marketed typical capacity of around 5,700mAh. The jump is reportedly down to silicon carbon battery technology, which Samsung has already used in this year’s foldables.
Charging gets faster too. The same certification points to 60W wired charging, up from the 45W Samsung has clung to for years, while wireless charging is rated at 25W with native Qi2 magnetic support. One caveat is that built in magnets on the phone itself are not confirmed, since Samsung may want to avoid interference with the S Pen digitiser. The S Pen itself, thankfully, is staying.
Chip, memory and display
Powering all of this should be Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, built on a 2nm process, with clock speeds rumoured to push towards 5GHz. Tipster Digital Chat Station says Qualcomm is splitting the chip into standard and Pro versions, with the Ultra getting the top bin in every market worldwide. Interestingly, Samsung’s own Exynos 2700 has been scoring well in internal tests, reportedly beating the Snapdragon in some CPU, GPU and AI workloads, but the Ultra is still expected to go all Snapdragon.
Memory could see its first big leap in years, with LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage rumoured, although at least one report disputes that. The display is tipped to be a 6.9 inch LTPO OLED panel using Samsung’s M16 material set, with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, an anti reflective coating and a second generation privacy display that narrows viewing angles. The phone is expected to ship with One UI 9 on board, and our guide to which Galaxy phones are getting the One UI 9 update has the full list for current models.
Price, release date and what it means for UK and US buyers
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S27 series in February 2027, possibly in the week of 22 February just before Mobile World Congress, with retail availability by late February or early March. Pricing is still firmly in rumour territory, but Android Headlines suggests a $100 increase that would take the Ultra to $1,399 in the US.
What would that mean this side of the Atlantic? The S26 Ultra launched at £1,279 in the UK, so a similar bump would push the S27 Ultra to around £1,379. That is only an estimate, and Samsung often prices differently by region, but UK shoppers should expect something in that neighbourhood when the phone lands at EE, O2, Vodafone and Three, and on the shelves at Currys, Argos and Amazon UK. US buyers will find it at AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, plus Best Buy, Amazon and B&H Photo, with Samsung’s own store deals usually sweetening launch week. Availability has followed the same pattern for years, with pre orders opening at Unpacked and phones shipping about two weeks later in both regions.
How it compares to the S26 Ultra
On paper, the S27 Ultra shapes up as the bigger generational leap. Our Galaxy S26 Ultra review found plenty to like, but the S26 stuck with the same 5,000mAh battery and 45W charging Samsung had been shipping for years, and it carried a £1,279 price that only made sense on a deal. Samsung has already raised S26 prices in Korea this year, so buyers should not be shocked if the trend continues.
The leaks suggest Samsung has finally addressed both complaints at once, adding 700mAh of capacity and bumping charging to 60W. Combined with the camera redesign and the 2nm chip, the S27 Ultra looks less like an S model and more like the reset the Ultra line has been waiting for. If you balk at the rumoured price, our Galaxy S26 FE review covers a cheaper way into the Galaxy family. None of this is confirmed, of course, and CAD renders cannot tell the whole story, but if even half the leaks hold up, Samsung’s next flagship will be worth the wait.
